AN - Weeee chapter 2! I hope yall are enjoying this story :D I've actually got a couple more ideas, one of which Im working on with smalltown, and another thats just in the outline phase, BUT you're gonna want to get to know my OC Jenna, and smalltown's OC Lucy if you want to get the most out of the stories :) Alright! thats enough of that! Hope yall enjoy the chapter and thanks for reading!

Feel Outside the Box

Chapter 2

By Tippy

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

A visit to the SBPD had found the detectives staring at a board with files and images concerning the missing people and possible fight clubs stuck to it. They were all quiet; Jules taking up a spot in a chair, her chin resting in her hands as she tried to make out the connections. Lassiter had a mug hanging in his clenched fist, his jaw tight with hidden frustration.

Shawn couldn't have been happier! They were getting nowhere, which meant a vision concerning a certain bowling alley would be taken with little disagreement. And it had. The Chief had allowed his slightly vague vision to play out, pretend bowling balls being hurled towards the head detective's desk.

They jumped into the vehicles after a name had been obtained for the establishment, and within minutes they arrived at a slightly empty parking lot. For a place of fun-times-to-be-had, it was strange that business would be slow this time of day. And as they pulled up to the back of the building, they noticed the figure standing at the back door, keys in hand.

Lassiter had wasted no time, jumping out of his car with O'Hara on his heels. Shawn and Gus exited their vehicle moments after, watching the figure spin in their direction as the dark haired detective called out sharply; he ran.

"Whoa!" Shawn and Gus had exclaimed in unison at the unexpected reaction, the man disappearing around the other end of the building with Lassiter, Juliet and a handful of officers close behind.

The take-down came a few seconds later as they heard sudden shouts from the police, followed shortly after by silence and the reappearance of the detectives, man in tow.

"Dude, that's the owner." Shawn whispered to Gus as they watched the group's advance.

Gus's brow furrowed. "Seriously? And he ran? Seems stupid to me."

Shawn's brow rose. "Yes, yes it does..." His thoughts were interrupted as the group made their way over, Lassiter shoving the man into the backseat of one of the squad cars after retrieving the door keys.

The two Psych detectives watched the keys pass to O'Hara, who motioned for four of the officers to follow her, leaving two with Lassiter and their runner.

"Our cue to check this place out," Shawn whispered, swiftly moving after Jules, Gus a step behind him.

The door opened to a staircase that led into a basement. New and used bowling pins, balls, and miscellaneous machinery lined the walls revealing nothing out of the ordinary as Shawn glanced over the space. Yep, this place has been cleared out... He let his mind focus. The room was big enough to house an illegal boxing coalition; covering the entire underside of the bowling alley. However, these guys looked to be professionals; never leave a place 'dirty'. No one's that good... and even as that thought crossed through his mind, he saw the water-soaked paper, torn in half with dark smudges of ink running across it. He could make out numbers and letters in the mess, possibly names, times, dates... he couldn't be sure. Storing the information away for later, he continued his sweep over the basement.

"...Forensics will be here in fifteen." The blond, junior detective was talking to a few of the officers, detailing some of the procedures needed to keep the room undamaged. She shooed the group off, catching Shawn's gaze. She spoke softly as she approached him. "You picking up anything?"

He was silent for a moment, looking over the room again before he closed his eyes, his fingers going to his temples. His brow creased as he began to 'see' images. "There's... people... men mostly... and-" he paused dramatically, "-cats? ... Lions! No... tigers? Jaguars! I see... jaguars and... Leather? Why do I smell leather?"

His eyes squinted open as he looked to Jules, the gears in her head turning. "Uh... leather pants?" He shook his head at her guess, seeming to strain a little more in concentration. "Leather... seats?! Leather seats in a Jaguar!"

He opened his mouth to disagree, when Gus chimed in. "Aren't Jaguars pretty expensive? Wouldn't that mean these people would have a lot of money?"

"Like in expensive leather wallets, maybe?" Jules turned to Shawn for confirmation, receiving a sharp 'yes' from the psychic.

"The people here must have been wealthy, but... wait... it's dark! Did someone turn out the lights?!" He started flailing his arms out erratically. O'Hara and Gus watched him, stepping back as to not come in contact with Shawn's flying fists. The thrashing stopped moments later. "Darkness... they came at night!"

"Alright, I'll have to relay this to the Chief. We may have to set up for a possible return." She turned walking back outside, her cell phone out to call Chief Vick.

"You think they'll be back tonight?" Gus asked, after the two were alone.

"Probably not." He received a confused look. "It takes a while for these things to get set up, people to contact, fighters to acquire. Maybe a few more days, but not tonight and certainly not here."

Gus visibly relaxed at that, glad for the fact that if Shawn really wanted to get back into this place he'd have to get past the police. And that wasn't going to happen.

"Oh, but I did find a list, or at least part of one." Shawn said brightly. "Could lead to something big! I need to get back to the office."

He'd quickly headed for the exit before Gus could ask any questions. As they emerged from the basement, his friend finally got a word out. "We can't, Shawn."

"And why not?" The pseudo-psychic turned, walking backwards to their car.

"We've gotta be at your dad's place for dinner in..." he glanced at his watch, "thirty minutes."

Shawn let a goofy frown play across his face at the reminder. "Fine, I can work on the case there."

Satisfied, Gus moved to the driver's side door, opening it and sliding into the small, blue car as Shawn entered on the other side. Moments later, they'd left the parking lot.

oOoOoOo

Henry looked up from his burger patties to see his son and Gus step through the front door. He wasn't surprised to see Shawn head straight for his desk, grabbing a sheet of paper from one of the drawers. "So," he called, returning to the patties as the two young men entered the kitchen, "what did you find?"

Gus spoke up when it appeared Shawn had no intention of answering. "The police are searching the basement of the bowling alley. Shawn found a list of names and numbers, most of it smudged." He glanced down at his friend as he wrote out letters and spaces, trying to fill in the blanks. "We're hoping they'll give us some suspects."

Henry nodded. "Alright... you've got a little less than thirty minutes to figure it out here, before our guests arrive." Slapping the last burger onto the pile, he turned to see his son still working on the puzzle. "Shawn, I'm going to need your full attention when they get here."

The pen stopped its motion at his father's serious tone. "What? Why?" Shawn asked, finally looking at the older man in front of him.

Henry hesitated a moment, appearing to be organizing his thoughts. "I'm not sure..." At his son's questioning look, he continued, "There's something... odd about this girl, I just need you to pay close attention to her... see if you can figure it out."

Shawn turned to Gus, who shrugged passively, then gazed back at his father, "You want me to analyze some girl you invited to dinner? What? Is she scaring the neighborhood animals or something?"

Henry frowned in slight annoyance. "No-" He crossed his arms, turning his eyes away as he spoke. "It was just something strange I noticed. I just want to see if there's more going on. Her parents are joining us, too."

Shawn gaped a bit. "Her parents? How old is she?"

"I'm twelve and a half!" a cheerful voice called from the doorway, the sliding glass door having been left open by Henry for faster access to his grill.

The three men occupying the kitchen turned to see the blond preteen. The smile on her face blinked away as she realized her early presence in the house might not have been welcome. "Mom let me come over early, is that okay?" Her question was aimed at Henry.

"Of course!" He smiled after his surprise had settled. "Actually, why don't we all go outside. These patties are ready to hit the grill, and you can meet my son and his friend."

Her smile reappeared before she nodded and ran back outside, Gus following after while Shawn made Henry hang back, obviously needing to talk. They heard the back door slide shut before the hushed yells started.

"You brought me here to analyze a twelve year old?!" Shawn started, glaring at his father.

"Look," Henry lifted his hands, trying to calm his son, "I know it seems strange-"

"Strange? Of course it does, dad!" He kept his voice low as he began to pace. "She's twelve!"

The elder Spencer dropped his arms in exasperation. "I know! But just humor me! I want to make sure there's nothing going on with her family."

Shawn was about to berate his father again when the sliding door opened and Gus leaned in. "Hey, you two should probably get out here." The father and son turned, one ready to agree, the other wanting more time to discuss the situation, but something in Gus's voice and expression caused them both to nod and step towards the door.

As the backyard came into view, so did the young girl. She was staring at them, a mix of concern and sadness on her face. It flitted away in seconds as the two Spencer men stepped into the backyard and she began to ask questions concerning dinner. This easily pulled Henry away from the other two men and distracted the girl.

"Dude! Could you hear us, or something?" Shawn asked in a whisper, worried that they might have scared the kid.

"No, everything was fine when we got out here," Gus started. "She was saying something about a dessert her parents are bringing and then she just stopped." His expression became more serious. "It was freaky, Shawn. She just stared at the door... said you two were angry."

Shawn gave his friend an odd look before turning back to look at the girl and his father, who were still talking. "Okay... that's strange."

"You're tellin' me." Gus followed his gaze.

"You two," Henry caught their attention. "I'd like you to meet Jenna McGillie. Jenna, this is my son, Shawn and his friend Gus." The boys waved, pushing away the weird feelings and giving the girl toothy grins.

The next fifteen minutes were spent talking about the neighborhood, the beach, and stories from when Shawn and Gus were kids. Jenna's parents arrived soon after, her mother holding a pie.

Introductions were made quickly, Sally and Todd McGillie taking seats next to their daughter. The burgers were ready a little while after, served with chips and soda.

"So," Todd spoke as he placed a piece of lettuce on his burger. "What do you two do for a living?" His question was aimed at the two younger men at the table.

"Gus and I have our own detective agency. A psychic detective agency," Shawn answered with a goofy grin, ignoring the huff from his father and the semi-annoyed look on Gus's face.

The three guests shot their gazes towards him with surprise, Jenna struggling with the expression as she chewed around a bite of hamburger.

"You two are psychics?" Sally asked, her burger half-forgotten.

"No, no, just Shawn," Gus corrected. "I'm his partner."

The parents nodded in understanding while Jenna kept staring, unblinking at Shawn.

Dude... Shawn thought, picking up his burger, dad was right. There's something odd about this girl... He'd been watching her since they all moved outside, and until now she'd seemed to be acting normal... if you didn't count what Gus had told him. Now she was looking at him like he'd grown a second head that resembled Big Bird from Sesame Street.

Not wanting to remain in the uncomfortable feeling that was creeping up on him, he took a rather large bite of his burger and realized the mistake a second later. A sharp, throbbing pain shot through his lower jaw and he suddenly remembered the hit he'd taken.

Not wanting to alarm anyone, especially not his dad, he kept his expression neutral, his slower chews the only indication that something had changed. However, it didn't seem anyone was paying attention to him anymore. Instead, concerned eyes had turned to Jenna and her burger that had fallen roughly onto her plate. He swallowed his food before his mouth dropped open slightly, realizing she was holding her jaw, her eyes clenched shut as if she were in pain.

What the... what is going on? He watched as the girl's mother ran a hand in circles over her daughter's back. He didn't notice as the pain in his jaw finally faded until Jenna unclenched her eyes and looked up at the group in confusion.

Shawn's first thought was that it had only been a coincidence, that they had experienced pain... in the same place... at the same time. But the look on her parent's faces was enough for him to realize there was more to the girl than they were letting on. He wanted to know what that was... and he knew a way that could get him some answers.

Squinting as he placed two fingers over his right temple, he spoke. "That... didn't come from the burger... did it." It was more of a statement than a question.

The three figures across from him were quiet, Jenna looking expectantly to her mother, then to her father. Both remained silent. Finally, the girl turned back to him and shook her head, much to her parents' surprise. So, they are hiding something! Score one for me!

Theories started to fly through his head as to what this secret might be; parents who don't believe in dentistry, pain to see other people eating, war flashbacks... okay maybe not war flashbacks, but possibly public school flashbacks! He remembered those days could be rough.

It wasn't long before the husband confessed. "Look... not many people know this, for Jenna's sake. We're just trying to protect her..." He trailed off before moving his gaze to Shawn. "You could probably understand."

Shawn raised a brow, unsure of what that last statement implied. A quick glance at his father and Gus offered two shrugs of equaled confusion. He turned back to the man, hoping for some clarification.

His answer came from the mother. "Our daughter... is an empath."

An awkward silence fell on the group, the two parents seeming to hold their breath, waiting for a reaction to their revealed secret.

Jenna was watching Shawn and he was returning her gaze, only drifting towards his father and Gus as he tried to ask what an empath was.

"I can feel what other people feel." He hadn't expected the girl to speak, and the fact that she had answered his unspoken question was enough to fill in the blanks he needed.

She's a psychic! Shawn's mind exclaimed. Kind of a weird way to explain how she was acting... but hey! His thoughts started to wrap around an idea. She'd make for an awesome interrogator! She could help me get under dad's skin, not to mention Lassie's... Dude! A whole new advertisement: Psych Now in smaller packages!

A small laugh came from across the table and he finally realized Jenna had been watching him with an amused smile on her face. He returned it and turned to the other occupants at the table.

"Apparently, we're okay with this." He wiggled a finger between himself and the girl. He moved his gaze to Gus, who promptly smiled and nodded in agreement, then to Henry who glared disapprovingly at the ideas he knew were floating through his son's head.

At the apprehensive expressions on the parents' faces, Henry raised up a hand in assurance. "Don't worry, your secret's safe here." He lowered his hand, addressing Sally and Todd again. "You home-school your daughter, right?"

It was more an observation on Henry's part than a guess, considering it was a school day and the girl had come by during school hours. It was the fact that she could feel what other people felt that gave him a deeper understanding as to why they didn't put her in a school full of self absorbed teenagers and bullies.

When the parents nodded, their mouths opening in slight awe, Shawn cut in. "If I may ask," he caught their attention before continuing in his pseudo-serious tone, "What training have you given Jenna with her abilities?"

A bit taken back by the question, it took a moment for Sally to answer. "Well... mostly she's been learning how to block feelings out. She's able to read people if she looks directly at them or thinks about them." She ended softly, sounding almost sad.

"Keeping her safe from the emotions around her," Shawn continued, his hands folding on the tabletop. "It's understandable. I, too, was burdened greatly by my abilities as a child, so I can imagine how Jenna must feel." He didn't miss the tight clench forming in his father's jaw, or the piercing glare being sent his way. He also noticed the intent stare the twelve year old was still giving him as she listened to his experiences. When her eyes brightened with the spark of excitement, he wasn't altogether prepared for what she was about to do next.

Shawn, Gus, and Henry watched in surprise as Jenna turned quickly to her mother and giddily spoke. "Mom! Mom! Can Shawn teach me how to be a psychic? Please-" Her begging continued on, unheard by most of the group as they glanced at each other in confusion.

Shawn's confusion dissipated soon after, replaced by amusement. She'd just made this a bit easier for him. He'd been struggling through ideas to convince the girl's parents to let him teach her how to use her powers; not that he knew how... exactly, but having an ally who could read a person's guilt was more than he could pass up.

A duo of no's sounded from both fathers at the table, although Mr. McGillie's was a bit softer while Henry's was aimed at his son. Jenna quickly turned to her father, a sad and slightly frustrated look crossing her face at his disagreement.

"But dad," she countered, desperate to make her case, "I wanna be able to do what Shawn does and help people! I don't want to hide anymore..." At that last statement, Shawn could see her parents falter in their decision and eventually they turned to address him.

"It's a lot to ask, but would you be able to help?" Mrs. McGillie asked, still sounding hesitant.

Before Shawn could answer, his father was up and yanking him to his feet. "Would you excuse us... I need to talk to my son for a moment." Without letting the couple answer, he pulled his son by a fistful of shirt into the house. Shawn caught the worried look that crossed Jenna's face, his own nerves twitching in concern as he remembered her reaction to their earlier fight.

Henry slid the door shut behind them before marching into the kitchen and spinning to face his son. However, Shawn was intent on disrupting the dispute immediately. His gaze stern, he lifted a hand to halt his father.

"You need to calm down," he stated, hand still raised.

"Calm down?! Shawn-" Henry was cut off before he could continue.

"Jenna is out there, most likely thinking of us and probably feeling every ounce of anger that I'm pretty certain is in your head right now." The seriousness in Shawn's tone was enough to send a flicker of understanding into the elder Spencer.

"Fine..." He took a deep breath, calming his emotions before he started smoothly. "You're not a psychic. You can't teach this girl how to be one. Plus, she's twelve... She can't go around with you to crime scenes or the station."

"I didn't say I was going to take her to crime scenes," Shawn defended evenly.

"You didn't have to, I know how you think, and you're just trying to find a way to involve her in your business." His lips thinned in determination.

"But you heard her, dad. She wants to use her abilities, and what better way than to help stop bad guys?"

"She's twelve!" Henry hissed, before closing his eyes in frustration to push the anger back again.

Calmly, Shawn looked straight into his father's eyes, "And I was younger than that... at least she has a choice." He didn't give his father a chance to respond as he turned, opened the door, and stepped outside again.

Shawn was greeted by three concerned faces and one confused one. He smiled to Jenna and her confusion lifted, returning a smile back to him. At least they'd been able to keep her out of the argument. He took his seat again and watched as his father emerged, sliding the door back before moving to his own seat.

Wow... she makes fights with my dad easier... he thought with a smile. "I'd be glad to help. If you would like, she could come here and my father could help, as well? He did have a hand in how I honed my skills." He flashed his dad a lopsided grin.

"Can I? Please?" She looked to her mom and dad expectantly.

"I guess so, if Shawn and Mr. Spencer are okay with it." Todd looked for confirmation, which Shawn quickly gave before his father could put his opinion on the table.

"Absolutely! She can come by tomorrow if she'd like?" Jenna gave Shawn a toothy smile, happy with the idea, both parents nodding. A time was set for a little after lunch, when she had finished her school work. That out of the way, they continued to eat their dinner.

Tbc...

oOoOoOo

And thats the end of that chapter! Next one should be up tomorrow or Friday :D we'll see! Again, thanks for reading, and if youre at all interested in learning more about miss Jenna, please feel free to ask! Ive got pictures and a livejournal for her :P silly yes but oh so much fun.

Lots o' love!

Tippy